Ex-Viking Brad Johnson’s son Max carted off field with injury vs. Gophers

The Gophers debuted New Hampshire transfer Max Brosmer at quarterback in Thursday’s opener vs. North Carolina. Brosmer, who threw for 3,459 yards and 29 touchdowns at the FCS level last year, was pegged as the starter the minute he transferred to Minnesota in December. Last year’s starting signal caller Athan Kaliakmanis transferred and made his Rutgers debut Thursday. Brosmer went 13-for-21 for 166 yards with one rushing touchdown in his first Gophers game, but he was sacked five times.

Replacing the No. 3 pick in this year’s NFL draft wasn’t a quick decision for North Carolina, which waited until game time to announce Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson as the opening starter. The 6-5, 225-pound senior began his career playing two years at LSU, including throwing for 2,814 yards and 27 TDs as a sophomore in 2021. Johnson, who never started a full season in two years after transferring to the Aggies, was replaced by backup Conner Harrel with three minutes left in the third quarter after being carted off the field with what UNC later called a hip injury. Johnson finished 12-for-19 with 71 yards passing with an interception and a rushing touchdown.

In P.J. Fleck’s first season in 2017, the Gophers twice had pregame delays in losses against opponents from the state of Michigan.

The Gophers fell 30-27 vs. Michigan State at home in mid-October and got clobbered 33-10 in Fleck’s first Big Ten game in Ann Arbor vs. Michigan.

After severe weather delayed the start of Thursday’s game by an hour, the Gophers and North Carolina played a nail biter that lasted three hours, 21 minutes.

It was an emotional night for former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson in the Huntington Bank Stadium crowd Thursday cheering on his sons, Max and Jake, who both play for North Carolina.

Johnson, who had two stints for the Vikings from 1992-98 and 2005-06, more physically resembled Max in his playing days. Max showed dual-threat ability Thursday using his legs on UNC’s first scoring drive, including runs of 16 yards and a 3-yard TD. That was the only score of the game for Max, who went from that highlight to later having his family choked up as he left the game injured in the second half. His brother had one catch for seven yards.

You know it’s a big game when Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti is in the house on opening night. Petitti and Gophers athletics director Mark Coyle took the field before the game and shared a suite to watch Thursday’s contest.

Petitti’s in his second year as the conference’s head man after replacing former Vikes executive Kevin Warren, who returned to the NFL with the Chicago Bears.

Could Gophers senior cornerback Justin Walley be the next in long line of players from the defensive secondary to get to the pros?

Walley looked the part of a top NFL prospect with his 70-yard interception return against North Carolina in the first half. Arguably the biggest play of the game at that point led to Minnesota tying the score 7-7 in the second quarter.

Last season, All-America safety Tyler Nubin (picked 47th overall by the New York Giants) was the 10th Gophers DB to be drafted since 2014. Walley might be joining Nubin very soon on Sundays.

If you had just tuned in to Gophers football for the first time during Thursday’s game, then it would be hard to call senior tailback Marcus Major the No. 2 option. That was the case for the Oklahoma transfer before earning the starting job with U standout Darius Taylor battling a leg injury.

After a slow start, Major finished the first half with 15 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown, which included a 19-yard run that set up a go-ahead score for the 14-7 lead late in the second quarter. That tied Major’s longest run since the 2022 season.

In the second half, Major was shut out on the ground on five carries. North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton had 74 of his game-high 129 yards rushing in the second half, including 54 yards on 13 carries in the third quarter.

No position on the Gophers roster seemed more solidified than with senior Dragan Kesich returning as the Big Ten kicker of the year. So, imagine everyone’s shock when he clanked a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter.

The miss from seemingly an almost guaranteed range for Kesich was reminiscent of the 27-yard chip shot missed on the same goal post with 26 seconds left by former Vikings all-pro kicker Blair Walsh vs. the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs in 2015.

Kesich got on board with his first FG this season on a 30-yarder to make it 17-16 Gophers with 3:40 to play. Possibly the biggest surprise of the night, though, came when his 47-yard field goal was wide right as four seconds ticked off to end the game.

North Carolina kicker Noah Burnett definitely stole the spotlight in the matchup Thursday with kicks of 29, 52, 42 yards and 45 yards, including the latter for the deciding 19-17 lead with 1:44 left in the fourth quarter.

Brosmer and Harrell traded fumbles with quarterback runs in the fourth quarter, but one proved much more costly than the other.

North Carolina punched the ball out before Brosmer’s leg touched the ground on a 7-yard scamper with 11 minutes remaining in the game. Officials overruled the initial call.

The Gophers couldn’t capitalize on forcing a fumble on the ensuing UNC drive, which resulted in them losing the lead.

Fortunately for Fleck’s team, another fumble on an 18-yard catch by Le’Meke Brockington was recovered by Major, who picked up 20 more yards to help get the Gophers within field goal range.

With just three points in the second half, the Gophers were basically shut down offensively in Thursday’s opening loss to the Tar Heels.

In the third quarter, they managed just four plays for one yard while barely possessing the ball but came alive for 127 of 244 total yards in the final period.

It really seemed like Fleck’s team might pull the game out on Kesich’s 47-yard attempt in the waning seconds. That’s probably why the game crew set off fireworks even after the missed kick. Oops.

After the two-point loss to North Carolina, Fleck met Tar Heels coach Mack Brown at midfield in what looked to be a friendly embrace – at first glance.

The two head coaches have known each other for years. Fleck received a letter from Brown when he was looking for words of advice when first setting out into the profession more than a decade ago.

So, why did Brown pull Fleck so violently toward him for the postgame hug that they almost headbutted in the process? A bit awkward but nothing to be salty about, right.